For the breastfeeding moms out there...How soon did dad/partner begin getting involved with infant feeding, i.e. you pumped and he/she bottle fed DS or DD? I need to read more breastfeeding guidance, but was hoping to get an idea from the ladies on here with concrete experience...thanks.
Re: Dads and infant feedings
We started once DS FINALLY took a bottle, so at about 11 weeks. DH and I alternated putting DS to bed, so DS would get a bottle on DH nights.
DD got bottles in the hospital to help with her jaundice, so DH fed her there after I BFed her. She never had any nipple confusion. It makes me wish that we hadn't waited until 4 weeks to introduce the bottle for DS. Maybe it wouldn't have taken so long for him to finally accept it!
I'm not a good example - probably 4 days old? We had to supplement with formula our first weekend out of the hospital over Xmas until my milk came in. After that, H didn't get a bottle again until about 4-5 weeks when I started pumping to save my nipples. She gets one pumped bottle a day, sometimes two, and DH gives her those exclusively so they can have some bonding time. However, I still pump during those feeding times.
6 weeks with #1 and 8 weeks with #2, both out of necessity rather than schedule. i had to travel for work when DS was 6 weeks and had a 3-day training when DD was 8 weeks.
i think that 4-6 weeks is the recommended wait to fully establish nursing from the breast before artificial nipples are introduced (be they bottles or pacifiers), though kellymom recommends 6-8 weeks.
in the meantime, we did other things to help dad bond with the baby. because i was nursing, i didn't see a need for him to be awake at night and so he slept through the night. since i didn't, he'd take the baby early in the morning so i could sleep in. he really likes that private time with DD and i really like sleeping past 7am!
this is a change from the first baby, when we were both up at night and both exhausted during the day. big lesson learned for us!
Both DDs had latch issues (not nipple confusion) so we really didn't do bottles until they started daycare (DD #1 just under 4 months old and DD #2 at 4 months old). First it was because I wanted to work on latch, then it was just easier to nurse. DD #1 had reflux big time and bottles made it worse in the beginning (too much air). DD #2 has been a 10 minutes or less (total) nurser since she was born. Depending on the time of day, pumping to make a bottle for her takes 15-20 minutes. I kind of have the same oppinion as eeclem - by the time I pump and clean parts it just isn't worth it. Also, to be fair, both DDs started STTN (8 hours +) very early on - like around 2-3 months, so night time feedings really weren't an issue. Both times, once I went back to work, I pump first thing in the morning on the side I don't nurse and 3 times a day at work, so on the weekends I really don't want to pump - other than the first morning one-sided pump. Given all of that, there have not been many opportunities for DH to give a bottle - but on the weekends he takes both the girls in the morning (after I nurse) so I can go back to sleep for anther hour or so. I guess that's my reward for pumping at work! He also does other things like getting them ready for bed, putting them down for naps, giving baths and, once we start solids, feeding the solids meal.
DD really struggled with nursing at first (she lost a lot of weight before we left the hospital) so DH actually started helping with feedings almost immeadiately. I would try to nurse her first and then after nursing her I would pump while DH fed her an ounce or 2 that I had pumped previously (He had to use a syringe and tiny tube to feed her).
We followed that routine at each feeding for a week or 2 until she nursed without problem. Around 2-3 weeks DH started giving her 1 bottle every morning so I could get at least 1 4-5 hour chunk of sleep (She was still waking up every 1-2 hours like clock work). It was great for everyone! He got bonding time with her and I felt a lot more like a human after getting some sleep.
She never had any sort of nipple confusion or preference for breast/bottle. I think it made the transition for me going back to work much easier because she was already used to the bottle. She got a bottle every morning, if we went out somewhere (I was not a fan of nursing in public unless absolutely neccesary), or if I happened to be away (errands/work). I nursed her until 6.5 months when she got her first tooth and now I just pump.